It’s
been called "Obamacare for the Internet." It’s been called a "solution
that won’t work to a problem that doesn't exist using legal authority we
don’t have" that will create "billions of dollars in new taxes."
It’s been called "ObamaNet." What is it and do we need it? ObamaNet is what will be left of the Internet after all
the proposed new regulations and new taxes (that have been suggested
by the government) are implemented. Remember those Obamacare promises we
heard: If you like your doctor, you can keep him. If you like your
insurance plan, you can keep it. Healthcare premiums will drop by $2,500
per year. Now we hear terms like "Net neutrality" - an open, fair,
and free Internet. Neutrality, openness, fairness, free. They
all sound great. BUT...[more...]

The "Fifty Shades of Grey"
novels, already "mainstream" in their appeal, had readied conditions
across the cultural landscape for a perfect storm of the cinematic kind. The film
adaptation of the initial "Grey" book has just broken box-office
records. It has also severely chipped away at society’s common conscience and
established a deeply disturbing baseline for societal norms. With regard to
media entertainment, the digital age truly changed circumstances across the
societal board. Not only has the technology that provides access to media
entertainment transformed our cultural viewing habits, it seems to have
simultaneously altered our ethical essence. [more...]

Once
again, this week many of Mr. Obama’s failed "policies" started to
close in around him: military, economic, healthcare, and immigration to name a
few. Mr. Obama has, again, submitted a plan to defeat ISIS... ISIL terrorists. He
wants a three-year war powers authorization to finally defeat "the enemy."
But it still doesn't include boots on the ground. Really? Even after many of
his military advisers and many of the allies that we have left in the Middle
East say it won’t work without boots on the ground. This plan comes from a man
who continually ignores the experts, a man who probably hasn't ever played a
game of "Battleship," let alone care about our military as a whole. [more...]

It’s
no secret that President Obama and Congress do not see eye to eye. And because
he knows he’ll never get them to pass his bills, Obama is once again using them
as an excuse and his position’s power to take executive action. Obama argues
that he is doing this for the people’s protection. Perhaps he is, but his
strategy to target hackers is ultimately making his own citizens' sensitive and
private information more available and therefore us more vulnerable to
exploitation by other entities - especially our own government. Let’s call it
the Patriot Act, Part Two, because in reality what Obama’s latest executive
order will do is expand and extenuate the number of establishments that can
access mass amounts of private and sensitive data. This data will be compiled
and contained in our motivated government’s vast spying contraptions that have
become infamous for focusing on U.S. citizens equally as invasive as it does so
on foreign threats. This authoritarian-like action will, in turn, further
deteriorate our country’s core belief in personal privacy. [more...]

Most recently it seems that Libya,
Egypt, Syria and the Ukraine have been playgrounds for our State Department. We
pick a side in the civil war and then support it, both overtly through the
mainstream media (usually Sunday morning talk shows) and covertly with CIA
tactical support and military industrial hardware. Our justification is usually
that the bad guys, those we aren't supporting, would do more harm than good to
the poor people by staying in power; therefore, in most recent times, a regime
change was necessary. Problems arise when the weapons of one group that we are
supporting somehow find their way into the hands of a group that we are trying
to eliminate. It makes for a very confusing situation when we are involved in
many civil wars at the same time. No wonder our State Department has doubled
its strategy section in the past few years. [more...]

On
this week's POLITICAL INSIDERS, we discussed the worldwide chaos that
seems to be spreading - and the total lack of American leadership to combat it;
the dysfunction of the GOP leadership up on the Hill; and the so far unimpressive
2016 campaign. Watch our shows here: Sunday Part
1, Part 2, Part
3. [more...]